Demon Hunters
by Toxic Picnic
Summary: Four years ago, Davis, TK, and Sora were all sucked into another world and joined a universe-wide group called the Demon Hunters. Now they've returned with others from the group, but what they find on their home planet isn't what they expect.
1. On Our Way Home

Hey everyone. This is Toxic Picnic. Before We get started, I'd just like to say: Hi to all of my readers. Anyway, I've also come to announce that I will be alternating stories from this, Demon Hunters, back to Walk This World. I will not be stopping Walk This World, just I'll probably do a few chapters in this, then a few chapters in that. Never fear, and enjoy the fic!

Demon Hunters

Chapter 1: On Our Way Home!

_"Home is where the Heart is."_

All of the Digidestined sprinted for the cliff, looking to see what the disturbance was in the Digital World. They all reached the edge and stared in horror at the terror unfolding. A portal was suspended in midair about sixty feet below them, red lightning cackling from the hole. The whole area was bathed in an eerie red light, in contrast the darkness of night. 

"So that's where all of those strange creatures have been coming from," Tai exclaimed. 

"It seems so, but the question is, how do we close it?" Izzy inquired.

 As if in response to his question, a red lightning bolt fired out and broke off some of the cliff. Davis slipped off the broken cliff and fell down. TK's hand shot out and grabbed Davis' foot. Unfortunately TK wasn't expecting how heavy Davis would be and was also pulled over. In one last attempt to save them Sora made a grab for TK's shirt, and actually made contact, but was pulled over as well. Tai made a grab for her foot but just barely missed it.

"DAVIS! TK! SORA!" They plunged down the canyon until they finally disappeared into the portal.

"NO!" Tai and Matt yelled in unison. 

Kari sat bolt upright in her bed. Cold sweat poured down her face, her heart beating three times faster. 

"Only a dream," she told herself. No matter what she still couldn't forget what had happened that day. Kari looked over at the mirror and saw herself reflected in the glass. Kari had matured a lot ever since her days in the Digital World. She was eighteen now, with shoulder length hair. She was much taller than she used to be. Her face was much prettier, although right now it was pure white and terrified.   
Kari looked at her clock and groaned. It was four thirteen. She at first thought about going back to sleep, but not with the dream she just had. At the end of all her reasoning, she decided to take a shower. That should wake her up. 

"Ah well, at least it's Friday," She thought out loud. Little did she know that there would be a surprise would be waiting for her in school on Monday. 

"Good work today men!" Sergeant Redeyes yelled as he clapped Slash on the back, causing the other to spit out his coffee. 

"Jeez Sergeant! Couldn't you be a little less, uh, enthusiastic?" Slash asked. Sergeant Redeyes glared at the private with a sort of angry pride. 

"You guys were incredible! I do have another mission for you though. But believe me, you're all are in General Brushburn's eyes. If you pull through on this though, I'll have to say good bye, because you'll be on your way to the elites!" Sergeant Redeyes barked happily.

"Okay then Sergeant, what's the story?" Red asked.

"Alright Red, I'll fill you guys in. We recently received intelligence that a force of Demons has occupied Darkside City on the Darkside of our Moon. You and ten other forces have been asked to infiltrate the city, and kill the pit lord in charge. After that, call for reinforcements to wipe out the demons. Alright men, get moving!" Sergeant Redeyes smiled at them, but that faded when they didn't move. 

"Well, what are you waiting for? Red! Slash! Switch! Get going!" 

"Your pardon Sergeant," the one called Switch put in, "but I believe that Red, Slash, and Mend all had something to say to you."

Red, Slash, and Mend all stepped forward and asked what they had been holding back for four years. Sergeant Redeyes looked at them cautiously while waiting to be addressed. Sora, also called Mend, stepped forward. 

"Well, you see, when we were inaugurated into the Demon Hunters, we were given a promise. Once our commander felt that we had paid off our debt to the Demon Hunters, we would be allowed to go back to our home planet. So Sergeant, do you think that we've paid back our debt yet?" Mend asked nervously. Sergeant Redeyes focused hard on her. 

"Well, truthfully I have to say that you have paid it back threefold, but this is a real opportunity here. If you guys pass this up, you might never get this chance again! And think of your other group members. You guys can never stop interacting as a group, it's forbidden. You'd be dragging the others down with you! Plus, you can't just quit. If you devote your service, it's a lifetime service!" Redeyes looked around at the privates. 

Switch, Sharp, and Fizzle stepped forward. Sharp was the first to speak, her voice punctuating the silence. 

"Well, we've all decided that we've had enough of the front line. A quiet outpost on Earth is just what we're looking for," Sharp pushed her hair out of her face as she spoke. 

"I could do without changing back and forth from Demon to Human whenever it's needed, for a while at least," Switch said thoughtfully. Sergeant Redeyes looked all around at the soldiers. None of them were budging an inch. Even little Fizzle's face was set. Seeing that they had made up their mind, he sighed in defeat. 

"I'll have a gate ready in a few minutes. You'll have to report every so often about demonic activities. That sector is unexplored, so your contact with anything will be minimal. You know the routine for setting up a detector. I hope you guys enjoy your new outpost," there was a distinct not of sadness in Sergeant Redeyes voice, "dismissed." 

"So, what's E-Earth like?" Fizzle asked. The six privates all strode down the hall leading towards the gate room. From there they would take a portal leading to Earth.

"You'll find it a bit strange," Mend told him, "they make war upon each other for their personal gain. They elect foolish people into places of power, and make no sense. It seems so strange what they do, but Earth is such a nice place to live, because everyone is so blissfully ignorant. No one there knows about the Demons, or the efforts to destroy them. And it's not overpopulated to the point where you can't find open spaces."

Fizzle seemed to be trying to absorb all of this at once. 

"Don't worry about it little guy, you'll soon see," Red rubbed the top of the younger ones head. Fizzle smiled and continued walking and looked back down the hall. Fizzle was easily the youngest Demon Hunter alive. He was twelve, and one out of two of the group that excepting the Demon Hunters code hadn't changed his appearance at all. Whenever people joined the Demon Hunters something in their appearance would change within the next few days. Fizzle had dazzling blue eyes and short blonde hair. He wasn't as tall as any of the other members, but was a stunning magic caster. His blood red robes hung down, covering up his shoes. He did some spell-casting that made elder members stare in amazement. However, part of the Demon Hunters code was everyone, EVERYONE, started at the beginning, and Fizzle found no desire to move up, all though his spell-casting put an end to countless Demons. Plus, he had a brilliant mind.

"I'm also very interested in this planet of yours," Switch put in, "from what you told me, it's beautiful, yet terrible at the same time. Kind of like you Sharp." This last comment was directed as a joke. It was rare to hear Switch make a joke, but rightfully so Sharp slapped him on the back of the head for it. Switch was tall, at least eighteen, with pitch black hair that came to his eyebrows, which was his changed appearance. He had black eyes that somehow radiated warmth at the moment. Switch always wore black garments instead of the usual red. He had black chain mail that didn't make a sound, and studded pants. He mainly used short swords to destroy Demons. Another strange quality about him was that he could shape-shift to look like a Demon at will, or teleport short distances and blend in with the shadows. Sharp was a very attractive woman also eighteen. She had long auburn hair that was set back in a pony-tail. Her changed appearance trait was that her eyes glowed with a mysterious green which made her even more attractive. She wore a white T-shirt, and dark red shorts that came down to her mid-thigh. She used mostly bows, arrows, and ranged weapons to take on her foes

"You'll see what it's like in a few minutes," Red finally spoke. Red was formerly known as TK. When he joined the Demon Hunters, his hair turned bright red, so thus he adopted the name Red. He let it grow beyond his eyes down to the tip of his nose, shading his eyes away. He also did away with his hat. No one was really sure how he was able to see with a big shield of hair in front of him. He had grown at least a foot from when he was a Digidestined. Red was eighteen, just like Sharp and Switch, but used magical claws that emanated from the end of his gloves. He wore a gray sleeveless shirt and baggy black pants.

"Yeah, and I can't wait to see everyone again," Slash said enthusiastically. Slash used to be Davis. He took the name Slash when he mastered his swordsmanship. Like Fizzle, there was no change in his appearance, except he was a little taller and his face more mature. He had big iron boots that came halfway up to his knee. They like his leg and full plate was black, but his undershirt and pants were red, making an eerie contrast. When he walked, it made no noise. Fizzle had enchanted it. He was now taller than Red, though they were the same age. Unlike before, there was no quarrel between Red and Slash. They had both agreed to work seamlessly together. 

"You know the rules though. No contacting people with our true identities. We have to pretend like we're someone else, for the rest of our lives, unless there is an emergency," Mend said in a serious tone. Mend used to be Sora. When she learned her healing magic, she made her name Mend. Before her hair used to be Auburn, but now it was pure gold. It reflected light like you wouldn't believe. She, in complete contrast to Switch, wore pure white garments. Over the years she had become increasingly more attractive, but there was only one person her heart was devoted to. 

"Well, then it seems that you won't be able to go to your beloved Matt," Slash snickered. 

"Oh shut up!" Mend snapped, "I'll think of something."

"Of course you will," Slash suddenly became very serious, and encouraging, "we'll all think of something."

At that moment they all stepped through the door into the gate room. All throughout the room were archways. Some up against walls, some in the middle of the room, some bigger than others, some wider than others. The one similarity with all of them was that there was nothing between them. You could simply step through them onto the floor behind them. They all seemed pointless. Suddenly a door on the left of the room burst open. A man walked through it, his eyes drooping, as if he were sleep-walking. He carried a bag to one of the door ways before shouting, "let's go, I don't have all day you know!" The six privates walked over to him and watched him. The man rifled through his bag and began muttering, as if making a checklist. 

"You got all your personal stuff?" he asked blearily. They nodded and he closed the bag. 

"This is all the stuff you'll need when you get to your destination, specially given by Sergeant Redeyes," he drawled at them. Then he stood up and pulled out a key, inserting it into the side of the closest archway. Suddenly the space between the archway flared into life, becoming a blue surface. It looked a lot like the surface of a lake.

"Go ahead," the man sneered.

Slash stepped forward and lightly touched the surface. Drawing memories up from his past, he remembered Odaiba, Japan. Without warning he was suddenly looking at the planet Earth from far away. He zoomed in quickly moving towards Japan. The next second he was staring at the streets of Odaiba. This was as the town was right now, in real time. People bustled down the streets, some shouting, and some laughing. For a moment Slash considered moving towards Tai's apartment. But he refrained and looked for an empty space. There was an abandoned alleyway just behind Main Street. Slash moved in towards there. There was absolutely no one around. 

"Let's go!" he shouted. They all darted forward through the portal. There was a moment where they were blanketed by the mysterious portal. The next second they were on the other side, in an alley of Odaiba. They all turned to look at the portal behind them. There was a portal, which looked like the surface of a lake there. All of them raised their hands to their heads, and saluted. They held their salute until the portal shrank into nothingness, disappearing from sight. 

"Well then, let's get moving," Red spoke after a while. 

"With the exception of Sharp, don't you think we'll look a little odd in this?" Mend noticed.

"Hmm, I see what you mean," Slash looked down at his plate of armor.

"Let's change into something a little more suited to this world," He told them. All of them with the exception of Sharp closed their eyes and focused. A light golden light wrapped around all of them blocking them from view. After a moment the light disappeared. Slash, Red, Switch, and Fizzle all had blue jeans and different colored T-shirts. Mend also had blue jeans, but had a pink spaghetti strap T-shirt on. 

"We have to find a place to stay. Let's fan out and we'll meet back here in half an hour. Synchronize watches to earth time…now!" Mend said as they pressed a button on her watch. It turned to Earth time, which was 3:02. The six of them darted out and split off in opposite directions. 

Slash walked along the street. He remembered this place so vividly. There was the bakery on the street corner that he used to buy bread from. And there was the flower shop he had given roses to Kari as an anonymous gift. 

"She still probably doesn't know that it was me," Slash thought out loud. Slash continued along the road until he reached a big building. This used to be his school. A scene unveiled in front of him. A blonde boy with a hat walked by a soccer field next to the school. 

There was a pick up game going on. A boy with brown hair and goggles ran to the ball as it was kicked out. Luckily the blonde kid was watching and caught it. He threw it to the boy with goggles and said something. The scene disappeared, it was just a memory. Slash walked over to the soccer field. It seemed like a lifetime since he had been here. There was no one on the field, but a Soccer ball was in the middle of it. Slash stepped over to it and stared. He had taught this game to his fellow Demon Hunters. They all learned quickly, and usually played with Slash in their free time. Occasionally other Demon Hunter groups would all play a tournament. 

Casually, Slash flicked up the ball and began juggling it. He attempted to keep it in the air with as many consecutive touches as he could. Slash got bored when he reached one hundred. On the last touch he flicked it up and snapped a shot towards the goal, from the half way line. The ball easily went in. Slash checked his watch, and saw that he would have to be back at the meeting place in five minutes. Slash started his walk back to the alleyway.

"I'll come back later," he thought to himself. 

Red had chosen an alley to stride down. He remembered this place, but it wasn't intimate like his apartment. 

And speaking of his apartment… Red changed his direction back towards the way he was coming from. He cut through a park to get to the other side. Stepping back out onto the street he saw a big apartment building right in front of him. There was a set of double doors. Red slowly pushed them open and stepped forwards. Inside was the main lobby of the building. A counter was at the back of the room, with a set of keys for every room. To the left of the counter was a staircase. To the left of Red was an elevator. It suddenly opened and three kids stepped out. One was a tall girl with lavender hair and big glasses. The second was a short boy with dark hair. The last was a blonde boy with a hat on. As they all stepped out of the elevator, they faded away. Just a memory. 

Red stepped up to the elevator and pressed the up button. He waited for a minute before it arrived. It opened with no one on it. Red stepped in smiling, the memories flooding back. He casually pushed eight. The elevator shook and moved upwards. The lights above the door flashed in turn. Finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Red stepped out and started walking down the hall. He began counting the apartments as we walked by. Suddenly Red stopped. This was it. Apartment 83. Where Red used to live. Beyond this door a lot was written about his heritage. 

Maybe his mom was still living here. Red peered through the small look hole. There was a woman sitting at a desk inside. She still had the remnants of good looks, although she was a bit older and her face was now lined. The woman was typing away at a computer. Suddenly she stopped and sighed. Slowly she picked up a picture and looked at it. Red couldn't see what was in the picture, but he could guess. He recognized that woman. It was his mother, still living there. Red moved away from the door, stunned. His mom hadn't moved on. She still mourned over what she thought was his death. 

"I'll be back mom, I promise," Red whispered to the door before he left. He only had five minutes to get back to the meeting place. 

Mend stepped into the park. She remembered this place well. This is where the older Digidestined had gathered to learn about the new threat from the Digimon Emperor. This park held significant historical premise, because this was the meeting place for both the first and second generation of Digidestined. It was almost as if it were yesterday. Mend continued on walking. Eventually she came out in an unexpected place. Mend looked up at the street sign that said: Hightenview Terrace. A huge Greymon was in the middle of the street, under a crashed bridge. Parrotmon closed in menacingly. Suddenly a sound broke the night. A loud whistle sounded somewhere near the Greymon. The huge beast suddenly opened its eyes and stood up. 

"NOVA FLAME!" Greymon roared and fired blue flame from its mouth. The flame engulfed Parrotmon, as the scene faded away. A memory, nothing more. 

A tear dropped from Mend's eye. For three long years Mend had killed Demons. Seen her friends torn apart, seen much more than anyone would wish on someone else. And now, it seemed like her adventures in the Digital World were trivial. Mend checked her watch. She had ten minutes to get back. Starting off at a walk one thought occurred to her. 

"I've seen enough to last me a lifetime." 

The first into the alleyway was Sharp. She leaned up casually against the wall of the building next to her. A few minutes later Fizzle jogged up and stepped into the alley.

"How goes it?" asked Sharp, "Did you find anything?" 

"Well, there's a bunch of places where there are a bunch of rooms which people sleep in called h- hotels. The thing is you need stuff called, um, Yen," Fizzle explained.

"Oh. Well, some old lady gave me a little pouch full of something. Maybe it's the same," Sharp wondered.   
  


"Not likely, these people seem to keep anything of value precious to themselves," Switch said as he walked in. 

"Well, she seemed really nice," Sharp mumbled, then changed the subject. "Did you find anything?" 

"There are a few abandoned buildings that are falling into ruin deeper into town. No one lives there, but we might want to try something else first," Switch explained. Mend, Slash, and Red all walked in at the same time. There was something etched on their faces that told the others something was troubling them.

"So, what do we got?" Slash asked before anyone could question the look on his face. Fizzle explained about the hotels, and about the Yen. Slash verified that it was Yen, which brought Switch into an involved conversation about why it had been given to them. The conversation ended with Slash explaining about how everyone on this planet acted different.

"By the way Sharp, there isn't really a lot of money in here, only about ten thousand Yen, but where did you get it?" 

"Some lady was being mugged, so I picked up a rock, and well you know. But anyway, she rewarded me for helping her," Sharp explained. All the others grinned. It was obvious what had happened to the thief. Sharp was so incredible with projectiles that she could easily whip a rock so hard and fast that it would easily knock out almost anyone. 

"Well, let's get going. We should establish a base point before anything else. From there we can contact Sergeant Redeyes. We'll all decide what to do after that," said Mend, enthusiastically.

Kari sighed, frustrated about how the day had gone. She hadn't been able to concentrate with the dream she'd had, and had totally failed her Calculus test. She had studied all the last two weeks for it too! Oh well, this always happened when she had a dream about that day. It seemed like that event four years ago was destined to torment her forever. Davis, TK, and Sora were gone, and there was no denying that. Something strange did happen on the way home though. While she was walking home, Kari thought she saw someone with bright hair that grew past his eyes. When she passed him she felt as if she had known him for a long time. The thing was, when she turned back to get a better look, he was gone. Oh well, at least today was Friday. 

"I'll need to see some Identification if you're going to rent a room. The nightly cost is going to be 165,000 Yen," the old, balding clerk at the desk went on and on about all these rules and regulations. 

None of them even had an ID specific to this planet, let alone enough money to rent the place. Slash threw a glance at Fizzle, who was staring mesmerized at the clerk. Slash tapped him lightly with his foot and nodded when Fizzle looked at him. Fizzle understood and bent low to cover what he was doing. He held up his fingers an inch apart between which a little ball of energy appeared, no bigger than a marble. He held it near his face and began muttering incantations and gesturing with his hands. In seconds the ball had become like a baseball. Fizzle clutched it then stood up. He casually tossed it to the clerk who wasn't paying attention, but typing keys onto his computer. The ball of energy sunk through his head and tapped directly into his brain. He immediately stopped talking and looked dazed for a moment. His eyes became unfocused. Then he suddenly stood up and grabbed a pair of keys from the wall. 

"Please follow me, I will lead you to your rooms," the clerk smiled and led them to some stairs. They all followed him trying to conceal their faces of glee. He led them up three flights of stairs and into a hall way with numbers 67 through 81. At the end of the hallway, he stopped and unlocked two doors: 80 and 81. 

"These will be your rooms, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but these are the only rooms that we have available in the suite model," The clerk squealed and wrung his hands apologetically. 

"That's great, so how much do we owe you?" Red asked tentatively.

"Oh, we'll just keep this our little secret eh? It'll be on the house, okay?" the clerk seemed more worried about the group than anything else. 

"Superb," Switch muttered, but with joy.

"If there's anything else you need, please let me know," the man made one final wring of his hands before he was off bustling down the corridor. Mend waited for the man to disappear down the steps before grabbing Fizzle and hugging him immensely.

"I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" She yelped while choking the life out of him.

"I- ca-eck- help!" Fizzle spluttered and coughed before mend let him go and just beamed to signify her pride. 

            They stepped into the rooms, which were rather small for a suite. They both had three medium sized beds and a couch in both apartments. There was also a small kitchenette in both only big enough for three people to stand in side by side and a bathroom with a tiny shower, sink, and toilet.  

"A bit cramped isn't it?" Slash wondered.

"If these are the suites, then I'd hate to see the standard package," Mend said still beaming at Fizzle. 

"So then, what are sleeping quarters?" Switch asked. 

"Isn't it obvious? Mend and I are in 80, you four are in 81. It's that simple," Sharp said as she and Mend walked towards their room. 

"Hey, wait. Shouldn't we even it up so that everyone can sleep on a be-," Red's last word was cut short as Mend shut her door with a snap.

"Or, this is good too. Yeah."

Slash sniggered, "well, looks like someone's got the couch. I nominate Fizzle."

"I concur," Red and Slash shouted in unison. Fizzle, who was already sitting on top of a bed, narrowed his eyes. Lightning orbs began to cackle on his hands. 

"Overruled," Fizzle growled menacingly. The other three smiled in defeat. Fizzle could be tough when he thought others were ganging up on him.

"Okay then, I got couch for tonight," Red volunteered.

"Alrighty then," Slash smiled. They all went and brushed their teeth in turn with tooth brushes provided by the hotel. Red got a blanket from the closet and laid down to rest. Everyone else followed in suit as Switch turned off the lights. As he lay down, he asked them all a question. 

"So, this is it huh? We're done? We just stay here on Earth for the rest of our lives, never fighting Demons again?" Switch inquired the question on all their minds.

"I suppose," Fizzle replied, "but you know there will be battles where Sergeant Redeyes will call us into battle." 

"Yeah, well I get the feeling that there's a greater purpose for us all here. Like us coming here is just another step in the grand scheme of things," Red sighed in the darkness. All the others looked at him questioningly. 

"Probably not eh? Just a thought," Red laughed, "okay then. Our next adventure brings us…to bed!" 

The others laughed and settled down. In a few moments they were all asleep. They had no idea how right Red was.

Oooh, cliff hanger. Well almost anyway. So, what'd ya think? Good? Bad? Tremendously Stupid? Lacking Action? Well, if you thought this last thing, then I can assure you that there will be plenty to come in the following chapter of Demon Hunters. Until then, C-ya.


	2. A Secret Uncovered

Demon Hunters

Chapter 2: A Secret Uncovered

Some secrets are best left undiscovered. Others aren't. 

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Digimon, or any of its characters. Now, the plot is another story. Ha ha, I made a pun. Not funny.

Authors Notes: After a long sleep, I have returned. I'm sorry to all who I made wait. I got a visit from some not so friendly man-eating snakes, but they caught me writing this, so no harm no foul. Like I told you, you can be expecting a lot more action in this chapter. Without further ado, here it is chapter two. *Yawn*

"Why the hell did they have to make this backpack so heavy?" demanded Slash, to no one in particular. 

Indeed, the sack slung across his shoulder weighed at least fifty pounds more than it should have. He took it off and readjusted the strap. As he did so, he looked around. Lockers lined the walls, all of which were blue and about a foot wide. He'd never been in this building, as he had been warped to Scar, a wayward planet where he met the Demon Hunters, when he was in 8th grade. This building held classes for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Although he was disappointed that he hadn't been here for the three years he should have, he was glad that he was still alive to see it in his senior year. 

He would always remember that day, when he, Red, and Mend found themselves surrounded by Demons. They were just about to kill the three, when the Demon Hunters arrived and slaughtered their captors. They were taken prisoner, until it was made sure that they weren't Demons. When Earth was described to them, The Demon Hunters had never heard of it, so they explained to them about their job as Demon Hunters. And the debt that Davis, TK, and Sora all owed them. It was a debt of service, to fight until it was paid off. And even though that Slash, Red, and Mend had all paid it off, they were still Demon Hunters. There was a certain loyalty they felt to the group that saved them. And they would help them, even if they were just staying on Earth.

"Oh well", he though, "what are ya gonna do?" 

            This was one of the first times Slash had ever been on time for school. Red had made sure he got up on time. He checked his watch; the bell would ring in a minute, so he hurried up to classroom 114. 

"It's really lucky we have Fizzle as a mage," thought Slash, "he always has some kind of spell in reserve." 

He remembered when the little mage had come into this school with them, and cast a charm spell on the Principal to let them into school the next day, just like with the hotel manager. As much as Slash didn't like school, it was necessary to adopt a normal identity for the planet.

Slash walked into class seconds before the bell rang. Switch was in there at the front of the room, talking to the teacher. She was young, probably just graduated from college a few years ago, and conversing happily with the black haired teen. When he walked in, Switch turned around and greeted him.

"We leave at the same time, and you barely show up before the bell rings. I suppose Red and Mend weren't lying," he snorted. 

"Well, you know, I got caught up with everything," he explained. The other surveyed him thoroughly and nodded. They didn't have any more time to converse as the teacher brought a silence to the class.

"Calm down everyone, calm down. Now, today we have two new students," she gestured to Slash and Switch, who both smiled. Slash stepped forward and smiled. 

"Hi, my name's…uh I forgot!" He cursed. Everyone in the class laughed, except for him and Switch, who kicked him. He hissed, "You're Sphen, remember?" The other smiled lightly. Fizzle would be making fake IDs with his magic, and wanted to know what everyone wanted to be called. Slash had always liked the name Sphen. 

"Heh, I'm Sphen," he explained.

"Nice to meet you," the class replied in unison.

"I'm Jack," Switch said as he glared evilly at Slash. 

"Nice to meet you too," again the class greeted.

"Thank you, you may take your seats anywhere that's open," said the teacher. Both looked around, and lavender hair caught Slash's eye. He looked and saw a much older Yolei Inoue. And sitting next to her was

"Kari," he whispered in awe. She was ten times more beautiful then he remembered, and he remembered quite a bit. Both of them were staring at him with disbelief etched all over their faces, and Slash saw an open seat next to Yolei. He made for it, with his friend trailing close behind. He sat down in the seat next to her, while Switch took the seat behind him, dark eyes glancing all over the room. Slash looked at Yolei, as she stared at him with mouth open. He winked at her, which caused her to stare even more. He grinned as he turned back to the teacher, who told them all to open their books to page one hundred and twenty three and to read along. 

Throughout most of the class Slash sat in a torpor, barely aware of what was going on. When you understand the properties of a dimensional warp and how several theories and formulas are applied to make one, advanced calculus doesn't seem too difficult. Instead he spent most of his time thinking about the world he had finally returned to, and his friends. Occasionally he would glance over at Kari, who he could tell was greatly troubled by his presence. She kept looking over at him, and quickly looking away. He even saw tears in her eyes once. After the teacher finished talking, she gave the entire class homework and told them to complete it. After a few minutes the bell rang, and all the students stood up and left. Switch caught up with Slash grinning.

"I really loved how you paid absolutely no attention to the teacher that entire class. It made me behind you less obvious. I was almost completely asleep," he laughed. 

"All of that stuff we learned in Demon Hunting Academy makes this seem like child's play," the other replied smiling. 

As they went out the door, Slash saw Yolei and Kari talking quietly, but not looking at him. Both seemed very disturbed. He frowned at them, and walked out the door not saying anything.

"I'm sorry Kari," he whispered. 

"I don't believe it. He looked exactly like Davis. How is that possible?" Kari was speaking very fast and hysterically. 

"When he winked at me, I could tell it was him. Just something inside me told me that it was him," Yolei whispered. 

Both had hung after class until the rest had left and then slowly walked down the halls to their next period. 

"But how did he get here. I was positive that he, TK, and Sora were all dead. Why did he just show up now?" the other asked. 

"I don't know, but next time I see him I'm definitely going to talk to him about it. This is just too weird," she agreed. 

After a moment Kari was at her next class. She bade goodbye to Yolei and set her books down in her usual seat. Then she took to staring out the window.

"Oh Davis, what's going on?" She thought while watching the Digimon play in front of the school.

"So, who were those two?" Switch asked. "Don't think I didn't see you staring at them the whole class." 

Slash grinned, "Old friends, who I haven't seen for four years." 

"Oh really, and are either of those friends special friends?" his dark haired companion asked jokingly. 

"One of them was, even though I never told her that she was special," the other replied brusquely. 

They both continued walking to the end of the hall. At the end Slash would turn left, while Switch would turn right. Both waved goodbye to each other and continued in the direction of their next class. 

That's when it happened. Both heard a faint sound, very quiet but growing in strength. It was a heartbeat echoing in their eardrums… their heartbeats. Both froze in place to listen to the sound. The heartbeat continued to get louder and louder. There was a tingling on the back of their necks. Slash and Switch whirled around to look. Coming down the hall was a small group of people, led by a tall teen in jeans and a black t-shirt. A strange aura surrounded him. When both of them looked at him, rage built up within them. As he drew closer and closer the urge to leap at him and spill his blood all over the floor engulfed them. Slash was barely holding himself back from charging and strangling the teen. Their heartbeats were pounding in their ears, making them deaf to all other sounds. He passed them and walked down the hall ahead of Switch. As continued away from them, the symptoms slowly disappeared. Once he was out of sight, the feeling was gone except for a lingering sensation of disgust that he hadn't been killed. Both knew what had just happened. Demon Hunters had the ability to detect all Demons. Any demon that came within a certain distance of a Demon Hunter would immediately set off an alarm. This alarm gave the Demon Hunter the immediate urge to kill the intruding evil. 

Slash looked at Switch in total bewilderment. They both knew what this meant. There were Demons, here on Earth. Dully, through the haze of disbelief, Slash heard an announcement through the loudspeaker that all students should report to the Auditorium for an assembly and noted that the surrounding students seemed surprised at the announcement. They complied dully, in complete disbelief with what was going on. 

"How is this possible?" Switch whispered to Slash as they filed along with the curious students. 

"I don't know Switch, I don't know," the other replied. 

Red walked down the hall continuing on to his next class, when he heard the announcement.

"Will all faculty members and students please report to the auditorium for today's assembly," called the principal. 

Red took a moment to remember where the auditorium was, when he realized that he had left his philosophy book in his last class. He turned around and walked back down the hall. When he got there he went in and found his book on the floor. Red picked it up and put it back in his bag. Right when he was about to head to the auditorium, something broke the silence around him. A heartbeat. Red jumped a foot in the air. Again the heartbeat sounded. Louder and louder it grew, until finally all other sound was blocked out by it. Red could feel where the Demons were. They were drawing closer and closer with every step. 

"How the hell could this happen?" he wondered to himself. They were coming down the hall. 

"This is impossible." He thought out loud, the philosophy book sliding down and hitting the floor. They were outside the door. 

"Oh no," he whispered. A second later, five people walked in, all with a dark aura surrounding them. A dark aura that only he could see. They were all Demons. With a sudden snap the last one closed the door. 

Fizzle removed his goggles and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He had been working all day on making fake IDs for the entire group. He was just finishing the last one, his own, when there was a knock on the door. 

"Come on in," he called examining his ID. Mend walked in yawning and stretching.

"Hey Fizzle," she said blearily. 

"Hi Mend, have a good sleep?" he asked. 

"It was great," she replied. "What're those?"

"They're our IDs," he said showing Mend hers. She picked it up and examined it. 

"Wow, it's really accurate," she smiled. 

"Thanks," Fizzle blushed in pride as he replaced his goggles and picked up a metal pen. 

He held it up and pointed it down at his ID. A blue beam of energy shot out of the pen and onto the card. A few seconds later the beam disappeared and he examined it. Fizzles smile had become a little bigger. Feeling satisfied he put down the ID and removed his goggles, and gloves. Before he even got up there was a loud beeping from his watch. Fizzle held it up to his face and checked it. The little screen was flashing red and orange, with a little message on it. There was only one word on it: Slash. Both he and Mend knew what it was. Their watches were programmed to allow transmissions such as instant messages or voice mail. Another function was the distress signal. It meant that anyone who received the message should immediately aid the comrade's name who was displayed on the watch. Mend and Fizzle looked at each other.

"What the hell?" they whispered in unison. 

Slash strained his neck to get a look at everything that was happening around him. Dark energy was holding him in place, binding him to the chair he was sitting in. The auditorium he was in was massive; with one big balcony the entire thing seated about one thousand people. There were four doors lining the walls on the bottom floor, and only one door on the balcony. 

He vaguely recalled what had just happened to him. He and Switch had walked into the auditorium and sat down together. When everyone was seated, the principal stood up and said a few words about the upcoming mid-terms. After about five minutes, the chaos erupted. About one hundred Demons burst through all the entry ways and used some kind of dark energy to bind all of the students. Within seconds the entire student body was being held captive. Try as he might, Slash and Switch could do nothing about it. They had left their weapons at home, considering that they'd be arrested if they were found with them. The thing that mostly perplexed them was the question of why this had happened. What did they want with a bunch of high school students? More importantly, how did the Demons get here? 

The heartbeat had stopped in his head. It seemed to have a mind of his own, and it knew that continuing to sound would just aggravate Slash. At that precise moment a demon walked down the aisle dividing one section of seats from another past him. Like most Demons, he was humanoid and muscular. His skin was sickly grayish. Two cruel looking horns protruded out of his head. His eyes were blood red, and had very sharp, savage teeth. The demon continued walking right past them, then suddenly stopped. He sniffed the air frantically as if he were a blood hound. Slash and Switch watched apprehensively. They had forgotten that Demons could detect Demon Hunters just as well as the other could detect them. 

After a moment of sniffing he continued on, shrugging. They turned back breathing a sigh of relief. Then what they saw made them freeze in terror. Another demon, bigger and much deadlier looking, was standing right in front of them. The grin he was wearing was not a pleasant one. 

"Shit," they cursed, failing to stop the word from slipping.

Red was smashed to the floor, bleeding profusely from his nose. He looked up to see the man who had punched him in the first place. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his human disguise. None of them had, even though they had been interrogating him for the last fifteen minutes. Red was badly beaten and bruised, with blood coming out of his mouth and nose. 

The Demon bent down and asked once again, "What do you know about the Demon Hunter invasion of the Epsilon-Major Sector of the Universe? I want answers, and I want them now!" 

Red glared at him, although his arms and legs were pinned down by the other Demons. He struggled against them, and when he found it was to no avail, he spat blood at the one leaning down to him. The man blinked a little, and then punched him as hard as possible in the face. Reds head cracked off the hard ground, which opened another wound there.

"This one's not giving us anything. Let's just kill him and go," one of the Demons suggested. The rest nodded in agreement. All of them got off, but Red didn't get up. He was still dazed from that hit he took.

"I suppose this is the end," he thought. "There's nothing I can do. Heh, that's ironic for the Digidestined of Hope."

 He looked up, as he thought. What he saw was his bag, and in his bag sticking out of one of the pockets was something very interesting. A pair of gloves was poking out of one of the pockets. In fact, he recognized those gloves, he recognized them very well. They were the gloves he used to fight, the ones with the energy blades that came out of the end. Summoning up the tattered ruins of his strength, Red reached out and seized the gloves. He worked quickly to put them on as he attempted to stand up. None of the Demons had noticed him; they were talking about what they were planning to do. When he finished putting the gloves on, he turned towards his captors and raised his fists. They looked at him mockingly and turned towards him, as if to finish him quickly. Suddenly three huge, glowing green claws emerged out of the gloves. The looks on the Demons faces turned from annoyance to terror. Red roared with rage and charged, his heartbeat beating deafeningly in his ears.

In the streets, total anarchy reigned. It was made quite clear when Mend and Fizzle sprinted out into the street what the problem was. Demons were everywhere, chasing down pedestrians and smashing them to the ground. Then they'd use dark energy to bind the people like with the students. 

Mend cursed loudly when they saw what was transpiring. 

"Okay, let me see here. Fizzle, you have to alert Sergeant Redeyes, no, all Demon Hunters, about this. Take this," she took out a device that looked like a mini Tele-Vision screen and handed it to him, "and get to the highest point you possibly can. From there, contact Redeyes and tell him to send whatever he can to earth right away!" Fizzle took the device and nodded.

"I need to find Slash, Red, Sharp, and Switch. Come and find me when you've done what you need," she continued very fast. Again, Fizzle nodded and sprinted off into the suburbs of the city. Mend also sprinted off, but in the opposite direction, towards Odaiba Senior High. 

Fizzle was running very fast. The shapes along side of him were blurred, but he thought he could make out Demons and humans. He looked up, and saw a fairly tall building just ahead of him. He stopped and glanced around. Directly to his left, a demon was harassing a pretty looking woman, trying to grab her shirt. He was not binding her like the rest. Fizzle concentrated on his fingers, and a little golden light appeared there. He pointed it at the Demon, and a blinding beam of energy shot out. Blood spattered the wall as the beam pierced his head. The beast fell to the ground, dead. Fizzle did not stop to help the woman. Instead, he sprinted straight at the wall of the building, without stopping. However, he did not crash into the wall, but continued up the side, only slipping on the Demon's blood. He kept running until he reached the top. When he finally got there, he quickly pressed a button on the device, and stared anxiously at the cackling screen.

Sergeant Redeyes sat back in his chair and sipped on his coffee. He was still extremely disappointed in his privates, but he knew their absence wouldn't last. It'd only be a matter of time before they got bored of that planet, "Earth". 

Once a Demon Hunter, always a Demon Hunter!

 He repeated the phrase in his head, and decided that he would devote more time to getting his prized privates back later. He had more important things to do, like giving his report about the invasion of Darkside City to General Brushburn. Suddenly there was a loud beeping from the screen on the far side of his office. His secretary's anxious face appeared in it. 

"Excuse me Sergeant, but I have an urgent message from one of your privates named" she checked a paper, "Fizzle." 

"Put him though!" he exclaimed. It seemed odd to him that one of his privates had already reported in. He hadn't been expecting one for at least a week, and it was far too early for Fizzle to get bored of peace. After a few moments Fizzle's face appeared on the screen. There were beads of sweat running down his face, and he looked terrified.

"Sergeant!" the boy yelled quickly, not bothering to salute, "We need help right away! Demons are attacking Earth! Send what you can right away! This is a Level 3 Emergency, I repeat, a Level 3 Emergency."

 Sergeant Redeyes stared, completely nonplussed. "What?" he said in disbelief. In his blank mind, it registered that this might be some kind of feeble joke. But then it also occurred to him that Fizzle, and indeed no Demon Hunter would ever joke about such a thing. 

A streak of annoyance flashed across Fizzle's face. Suddenly the screen was moving, and was suddenly pointing down at the street below. Sergeant Redeyes saw just in time, a demon go charging down the street after a man, who tripped. The screen moved back to Fizzle's face. "You see?" he roared. Sergeant Redeyes only looked stunned for a second. 

Then he sprung into action. 

"I'll be sending as many troops as I can spare, they'll be there in minutes. As for you, get the others and do what you can. I will inform my superiors, yes, including the Grand Admirals. This is extremely important, and it could lead to some explanation about recent demonic activities. Over and out!" he bellowed, and the other nodded.

 The screen disappeared into the wall as he slammed the door to his office. He walked down the hall, and burst right in to General Brushburn's meeting.

"I apologize sir, but this is extremely urgent," he said without faltering.

Mend met her own fair share of trouble on her way to the school. She was ambushed by a party of four of Demons, and had to fight her way through them. They came at her grinning, and each pulled out a deadly looking weapons. One had a scimitar, one had an axe, one had a whip, and the last one just had huge claws. Mend frowned as her light brown eyes contracted, very aware of how long and pointy those claws were. 

He considered her options as one of the Demons, the one with the sword, stepped forward and said, "Well, well, well, what have we here?" 

She would have to fight them, that was obvious, but what weapon should she use? Hmm, decisions, decisions. Suddenly Mend's right hand shot forward, and she held the palm up, as if she was waiting for the Demons to give her something. With a flash of blinding white light and a loud cracking sound, a long flail appeared in her hand, its spiked points glinting deadly in the sun. She brought it quickly back over her left shoulder, and swung with all her might. There was a sickening crunch, and the Demon fell to the ground, bleeding from a hole in his head. 

"WHAT THE?" Screamed the one with the whip, but Mend was not done. 

There was another flash of white light, and another end had appeared on the flail. She swiftly began spinning it above her head, and when it gained enough momentum, let fly. The Demons barely had time to move before hurtling death was speeding towards them. The ones in front, the ones with the claws and whip managed to get out of the way. The last one was not so lucky. He caught a full blast of it across his neck, and with a loud snapping sound, the Demon Fell, his throat bent at an odd angle. The double-flail went spinning off, then came around in a curve and went right back towards Mend, who caught it with ease. The Demon with the whip struck out, and hit her just above her left eyebrow. She recoiled, wincing in pain, and then turned back to her opponents in rage. They stared at her, and then slowly began to back away. Mend charged, looking furious. 

Red smashed open the door with his foot, and stalked down the hall, green claws still emanating from his gloves. He was striding off towards the auditorium, when he passed the front door. He was surprised, to say the least, to see Mend coming up the front walkway. There were two Demons in front of her, both of whom which fled through the front door, into the school. Red had been ready, and leapt out from behind a potted plant to attack. With one swipe of his claws the first fell to the ground, three huge claw marks across his chest, clearly dead. With the second, Red thrust forward, and stabbed it right through the neck, killing him instantly. 

Mend walked casually through the front door and said, "Hello Red." As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Morning Mend," he replied, equally as casually. 

"Where are the others?" she asked checking her injuries in a nearby window. She tapped a cut across her cheek, and winced. Then she rubbed her finger across it, and the cut shone golden. After a second, it disappeared. 

"I dunno, probably in the Auditorium. There was an announcement calling the entire school there," he admitted shrugging. Mend turned him, and stared at him. Red was suddenly very much aware that blood all across his face and clothes. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and reached out towards him. With a wave of her hand in a circular motion, and a snap of her fingers, the blood disappeared and his white face turned pink again, as if the blood that had spattered his clothes had suddenly returned back to his face. 

"Let's check it out then," she said smoothly and began to walk down the hall, Red swinging in at her side.

Switch stared around, terror creeping up to him as slowly and as sickeningly as was the Demon in front of him. He was a lot bigger a fiercer looking than all the others, and a huge sword was in his hand. He stared down at him, a nasty look playing around his face. His foot shot out, and smashed down on Switch's neck, who tried to scream out in pain, and instead spluttered and choked from the loss of air. 

The demon was shouting above him, "All you humans, do you not see? You are ours now! You exist only to do the bidding of us, your Demon Masters! This weakling," at this the demon pushed even harder down on his neck, "and the group he represents attempted to stop us! Their efforts were in vain, for with the slaves we will gather from the planet, and the resources we can put to use on this planet, we will win this war, and destroy the so called 'Demon Hunters'!" 

He roared, and the rest of the Demons roared with him. Switch tried to get a view of Slash, and saw him struggling valiantly against his captors, but was unable to get loose. He felt the foot lift off of his neck, and took a huge gasp for air. Over a minor coughing fit he was having he heard the demon above him yell out, "Now, let this pitiful figure become a sacrifice, for the new age of darkness!" 

The Demon screamed with a steely glint shining in his eyes. He had had the sword resting between his legs, blocking Switch's view of what was behind him. But now he saw that, while Slash had been struggling against his captor, he had knocked a sword loose. The sword in question was now lying directly in front of him, behind the demon. An idea suddenly occurred to him, and he began summoning up what remained of his energy. As the Demon began to plunge the sword downward, Switch took a huge breath and held it. Several things happened at the same time. He felt the floor beneath his body disappear, and then come back under his feet. Quickly he reached down and snatched up the sword, all the while there was a loud whistling sound and a scream of pain. Switch unsheathed the sword and sprinted up the Demon, whose sword was stuck in the ground. He turned, just in time to see a sword come down onto his head, killing him instantly. 

There were screams from the humans in the crowd, but also from surrounding Demons. Switch looked around and saw an arrow embedded into the forehead of the Demon that was holding Slash. He also saw another arrow come out of nowhere and hit one that was standing a few feet away. The Demons in the auditorium were yelling and looking around at the balcony, apparently under the impression that whoever shot the arrows would suddenly jump out and yell "BOO!" Switch looked at Slash and nodded. Slash leapt forward and seized the sword that the Demon had had. Switch crouched down and gripped a ring on his left hand. He muttered a command word. His appearance began to change, becoming scaly gray and muscular. Horns sprouted from his head, and his teeth grew into fangs. He was the image of most of the Demons standing around. He stepped forward, to stand directly behind the closest demon to his, a rather fat one. Slash suddenly yelled from behind him, and he and all of the Demons turned to look. None of them noticed that Switch had gone, replaced by a Demon none of them recognized. 

Sharp was crouched next to some girl with light brown hair, the bow and arrows loosely held in her hands. 

"Where are they coming from?" asked one of the Demons. 

"Send for reinforcements!" shouted another. There was a thumping as one ran for help. 

"Search everywhere!" yelled a third, "and kill that crazy human!" Sharp sniggered as she watched Slash take off the head of the closest Demon. 

"Slash, you're crazy," she said to no one in particular. 

"What are those things?" whispered the girl next to her. Sharp glanced at her, and saw a very attractive young woman with shoulder length light brown hair and taupe eyes. 

"Demons," replied Sharp, "they've come from galaxies away to kill or enslave us. I'm sure you heard enough from their leader to be getting along with. We, that is to say a few others and I, represent a group called the Demon Hunters who fight the Demons, and try to stop them from taking over the universe. Think I can hit him? From the back of his head, through his right eye," she referred to a demon a few rows away, who was sniffing the air heartily. 

The girl gave her an odd look, the demon was staring straight ahead, facing not directly at them, but at an angle in which she could not hit the back of his head. However, Sharp was already pulling back the bow-string and notching an arrow in. She took careful aim, and let fly. The arrow was not aimed directly at the demon, but a pillar just to the right of him. The arrow glanced off the pillar and glanced off the side, imbedding itself deep in the back of the demon's head. His right eye shot out, revealing a sharp arrowhead. The girl stared, first at the demon, and then at Sharp, who was laughing silently next to her.

"Bloodknock is dead too!" shouted another Demon.

"Look, the arrow must have come from over there!" cried another, pointing first at the arrow and then in the opposite direction of which Sharp was in. This caused the archer to start laughing even harder, although maintaining silence while doing so.

"Idiots," she chuckled.

"It doesn't," the girl seemed to be teetering on the edge of a question she thought was dangerous, "bother you to kill them at all?" 

"Of course not!" replied Sharp, mortified. "These things are the incarnate of evil, pure darkness in all of its forms. Not only does it not bother me, it actually gives me a kick to see them get a taste of their own medicine. Whatever were you thinking, uh, I didn't get your name?" 

"Kari," she said softly, completely surprised, "Kari Kamiya." The name stirred something in her memory.

"THE Kari Kamiya? The one and only? Wow, I had no idea. Slash always used to talk a lot about you. That's him right there," she gasped and pointed to Slash, who looked at just in time to see him plunge his sword through another enemy's stomach. 

"Davis? Slash? What the?" but as Kari was about to ask about him, there was a sudden bursting sound, and they saw a door fling open and ten more Demons come in. 

Unlike the others, these were pure red, and had wings that were rapped around their bodies. They were a lot bigger and more muscular, and fire was trailing from their eyes. Their teeth and claws were even more jagged and sharp, and when Sharp saw them, she suddenly stiffened and notched an arrow in her bow. 

The leader barked at the others, "Kill him, and find the other!"

 They all began to move out and try to carry out the instructions, but a sudden thumping noise made them all stop and stare. From the main door to the auditorium on the ground floor, there was a loud banging and screaming noise. Then it stopped, and the door rattled a bit, and that stopped too. Three green claws burst through the door on the top right corner, and slashed down to the opposite one. Then three more of the same ones came from the top left, and went down to the bottom right. After another second the door was suddenly smashed off its hinges and went spinning out to hit a Gray demon. Standing in the doorway, framed by light, was Red. His hair was floating delicately, as if it was caught in a wind, and a look of pure wrath was etched in every line of his face. 

He roared and charged, taking swipes at random Demons, who would fall in a bloody pile. The look of nervousness on Sharp's face suddenly turned to a grin, as she watched Red swinging at every enemy he set his eyes on, and Mend trailing in his wake. She had a mace in her left hand, and was firing golden lights with her right hand, which would slice though the dark bonds with ease. A Gray demon came up to her and began swinging his sword at her. She blocked it with ease, still freeing as many students as she possibly could. When she finally got annoyed, she grabbed the mace in her right hand and cracked it over the Demon's head, instantly killing him. The freed students would jump up and run away, out through the door, away from the ensuing battle. Sharp grinned even wider, the battle's tide had suddenly been turned in their favor. She leapt up and began firing arrows at any Demon she saw. Most of the Gray ones fell quickly before her, but the red ones were much more difficult to kill. The first one she killed was by luck. She leveled an arrow at him and released. It soared down at him, but right as it was about to hit, the Demon tripped over a body of a Gray Demon, exposing his throat. The arrow plunged deep into his jugular vein, and he fell to the ground, forcing the head further in. 

While it was true that all of the Demon hunter present were doing tons of damage to the ranks of the enemy, indeed even Switch was sneaking around in Demon form, stealing his enemy's weapons, and stabbing them in the back before they could turn around, none were more destructive than Red. He would charge head first into his enemies swinging, and would soon be in the middle of a pool of bodies. This changed however, when Fizzle showed up. The Demons decided that the fight was not going their way, so instead of redoubling their efforts, they decided to run away.

"Retreat!" shouted one of the Red Demons. 

The Demon Hunters on the ground floor immediately moved to defend the exits, raising weapons to prevent escape. Meanwhile, Sharp was busy sawing off the dark bonds binding Kari with the edge of her arrow. When she finished she noticed that the Demons were climbing up onto the balcony to escape. She quickly grabbed her bow and arrow, but couldn't start firing before a Red Demon knocked her aside. She fell, and watched the remaining Demons charge towards the door. Before they even reached it, however, it exploded and the door sent them flying back. 

Standing there was Fizzle, surrounded in flames, his eyes pure white. He was in what was called his Battle Mode: Fire. Fizzle could cast offensive magic just fine in normal mode but when he wanted an extra burst of power, he could choose an element, and go into the element's battle mode. This heightened his power in that element, while slightly decreasing the other eight. 

The Demons all stood up just in time to see Fizzle gather fire on his right had, pull back, and release the fireball while yelling "FIREBALL!" The one in front, the Red Demon, dodged to the side. The rest behind him failed to get out of the way though, and were caught up in the fire. The ball flew out past the balcony, and exploded, sending ash everywhere. Sharp looked around. The remaining four elites were on the ground floor, and the fifth was right in front of them. 

Fizzle suddenly pointed a finger at him and screamed, "YOU PICKED THE WRONG DEMON HUNTER TO MESS WITH! PYROTECHNICS!" A mix of fire and lightning coursed through the air and connected with the Demon. The fire stopped, but the lightning began running through his body, making him writhe and scream. Sharp stood, and notched two arrows in her bow. Then she let fly, aimed directly at its heart. They plunged through, and he fell, bleeding and dying. 

It seemed like the remaining Gray Demons might actually get away. Although there were only a dozen left, they still had a chance of escaping. Two that had come from the streets, at the loud explosions coming from the auditorium, went to investigate. When they saw what was going on, they went and got some rope. Then they went back to the auditorium and climbed into the ceiling. Seeing their comrades in trouble, they lowered the rope down to the others, who struggled to get up it, away from the Demon Hunters massacring them. The first one up the rope was about ten feet away from the ceiling, when a huge figure flew by, grabbing the rope in her mouth and pulling hard. All the remaining Gray Demons fell down, including the two holding the rope. They collapsed in a heap, and the great figure of Nefertimon landed, Kari riding on her back. 

"Nefertimon, it's been a while," Red cried in joy.

 The huge cat Digimon started at him, then spoke, in a confused voice, "who are you?" 

All of the Demon Hunters looked up, including Sharp and Fizzle, who had climbed down from the balcony. Mend even stopped in the middle of tying up a Demon in gold bonds to listen. S

lash stole an almost annoyed look at Red, and then sighed exasperatedly, "We've got a lot of explaining to do."

 Red had just opened his mouth to say something, when the main door burst open, and everyone present whirled around to look. Two tall, sharply dressed Demon Hunters walked in. Everything about them was official, from their severe buzz-cut hair, to their neat red, white, and black military uniforms. When they entered, all six Demon Hunters snapped to attention, and saluted quickly. 

"At ease!" barked one of them, a man with high cheekbones and a large chin.

"YES SIR!" shouted the rest, and even the one on his side fell into the "at ease" stance, with their arms behind their backs and their feet at shoulder width. 

"I'm afraid you're going to have to save your reunions for later, we have an emergency!" stated the one that was still standing stiff and tall. The privates remained silent. 

"It appears that the enemy has invaded not only this city, but the entire planet. I want this group to lead the attacks on several major cities where the enemy has invaded."

 A shadow of a grin flicked across the face of the man standing on the right of the first man, who was only distinguishable by his somewhat eerie, glowing red eyes. 

"This company moves out in an hour. Dismissed," he shouted one last time. The privates again shouted, "YES SIR," but they were unable to hide the air of disappointment that was so prominent in their voices.  The man stiffened, but only for a second. 

Then he said, in a much more informal tone of voice, "I have been informed that, on this planet, there appears to be some kind of, 'digital interface' and that this 'world' harbors creatures of considerable power," his eyes roved across Slash, Red, Mend, Kari, and finally the huge cat in the center of the room. 

"The number one priority of this mission is to use all resources available on this planet to the Demon Hunters. As it is officially undiscovered, it will require the knowledge of those who have been here to fight against the enemy. With this knowledge, the key to victory on Earth is in our hands. You have your orders, dismissed!" He was suddenly formal again. 

"YES SIR!" the privates shouted again, snapping into attention as he walked out the way they came, rather briskly. 

The man with red eyes remained, and said, "Soldiers, you will contact me in one hour, and I will give you the positions that you will attack. If we move quickly, we should be able to stop the Demons plans." 

The whole time he had been flicking glances between Nefertimon and Kari. He suddenly strode forwards and held out his hand. 

"You must be Kari. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you and the rest of your, uh, team from Davis, TK, and Sora," he smiled gently. Kari stared at him, a look of stunned confusion on her face. No one looked more confused than Red, Slash, and Mend though. 

"We never told you our names," said Red in awe. He ignored them, and continued, "My name is Sergeant Redeyes, and I am their commanding officer in the group they serve, the Demon Hunters. In about an hour, they're going to have to fight for us again, but they will return. I have full confidence in them." 

He shot a proud look at the surrounding Demon Hunters, and continued, "Basically, what you need to know right now is that most of these people really are your old friends, at that they have returned. However, what better way to ensure their safety, than to accompany them, and help against the enemy." 

He smiled, turned and strode from the auditorium. At the door he stopped, whiled around, and yelled, "one hour!" Then he was gone. The Demon Hunters, Kari, and Nefertimon stared around at each other. Then Kari broke the silence. 

"Is it really you?" she asked softly.

 In unison, Red, Mend, and Slash all nodded, and smiled. She stared around at them all again, and Red distinctly saw her reach down and pinch her leg. 

When she had confirmed that this was not a dream, again she asked, "What he said, is it true?" 

Again they nodded, but the smile faded. Kari's stunned face was replaced by one with determination on it. 

"Then, we have to fight them!" She said, in a surprisingly strong voice. 

"Well said," commented Switch, who Kari looked at, studied for a minute, and then decided it was better not to ask. Switch suddenly realized he was still in his demon disguise, and transformed back. 

"So what's the plan then? What do we do?" Fizzle asked, out of Battle Mode: Fire, and sweating slightly. 

"I suggest," said Slash in a voice that made everyone look at him with rapt attention, 

"That we call out the old team. It's about time the DD's reunited again." Red and Mend nodded, with grins spread across their faces. Kari nodded as well, and said, "That's an excellent idea." 

Authors notes: Well, what do ya think? It's a lot different than most of my other chapters that I've ever written, that's for sure. Let me know if it's an improvement. Have fun. Cheers.


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